Activities of Judith A. MERKIES related to 2011/0387(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Strategic Innovation Agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT): the contribution of the EIT to a more innovative Europe PDF (809 KB) DOC (982 KB)
Amendments (31)
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 2
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 2
The reasons for putting research, education and innovation at centre stage are straightforward. In a context of increasing global competition and facing a demographic challenge at home, Europe's future economic growth and jobs will increasingly come from innovation breakthroughs in products, services and business models as well as from its ability to nurture, attract and retain talThe European society is faced with three grand societal challenges, namely: - the current demographic changes: an ageing society, growing world population (nutrition, health, disease prevention), urbanisation, social cohesion and migration; - the transition to sustainable management of resources (biological and nonbiological): climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency, resource efficiency, water scarcity, floods and efforts to secure and substitute critical raw materials; - a strong, stable, equitable and competitive economic base: economic recovery, harnessing a knowledge-based society, and boosting the EU's competitiveness and employment. WhilThese there are individual success stories across Europe, EU Member States on average underperform in comparison with global innovation leaders. Moreover, the EU is facing increased competition for talent from new centres of excellence in emerging economies. e societal challenges are interlinked and encompass all challenges as mentioned under the Horizon 2020 framework. Europe’s solutions to these challenges will increasingly come from innovation breakthroughs in products, services and business models as well as from its ability to nurture, attract and retain talent.
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 4
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 4
The EIT has been set up precisely to this end – to contribute to sustainable economic growth and competitiveness by reinforcing and accelerating the innovation capacity of the Union and its Member States. By fully integrating the knowledge triangle of higher education, research and innovation, the Institute will strongly contribute to tackling the grand societal challenges under Horizon 2020 and bring about systemic change in the way European innovation players collaborate.
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 5
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 5
To achieve this goal, the EIT combines strategic orientation at EIT level with a bottom up approach through its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). KICs are highly integrated partnerships, bringing together excellent universities, research centres, small and large companies and other innovation actors on a long-term basis around specific societal challenges. Each KIC is organized around a small number of interconnected co-location centres where partners work closely together on a daily basis and with an unprecedented degree of common strategic objectives. Co-location centres build on existing centres of excellence, developing them further into local innovation ecosystems and linking them together into a broader network of innovation nodes across Europe. Within the EIT framework, the individual KICs have been given a large degree of autonomy in defining their internal organisation, composition, agenda and working methods, allowing them to choose the approach that is best suited to meet their objectives. At strategic level, the EIT organizes the selection process of KICs, coordinates them with a flexible framework, supports and advises them in administrative matters, stimulates collaboration between them and disseminates their best governance and funding models.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 6
Annex – part 1 – point 1.1 – paragraph 6
Through the KICs, the EIT tries to accelerate innovation and to helps to create environments where innovation is more likely to thrive and to generate breakthroughs in the way higher education, research and business collaborate. This approach helps addressing the increasingly complex and interlinked societal challenges set out in Horizon 2020 in a holistic way,, combining sectorial and cross-sectorial innovation and bringing together excellent people from different sectors, backgrounds and disciplines – who otherwise would not necessarily meet – to jointly find solutions to the challenge.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.3 – paragraph 1
Annex – part 1 – point 1.3 – paragraph 1
The inter-relationships between research, innovation and education are increasingly being recognised within EU initiatives and programmes. There is great potential for mutually reinforcing actions at European, national and regional level. At EU level, the strategic framework provided by Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) – will further ensure these synergies are fully exploited. The EIT and its KICs have to complement the totality of EU research and innovation funding, rather than duplicate them.
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.3 – paragraph 4
Annex – part 1 – point 1.3 – paragraph 4
Moreover, there are opportunities for mutually reinforcing interaction with the Union's Cohesion Policy by addressing the linkages between the local and global aspects of innovation. Co-location centres provide for cross-border collaboration and are well positioned to capitalise on various funding schemes from their respective regions. The co-location centres play a major role in strengthening the local-global connectivity of the KIC as a whole, including through close co-operation with regional authorities, in particular those involved in designing and delivering the Regional Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3). Furthermore, linkages between KICs and local cluster organisations could be strengthened to increase the involvement of SMEs in the activities of the KICs. While opportunities for synergies differ depending on the thematic area of a KIC, a number of initiatives and programmes at EU level seem particularly prone to offering benefits from cooperation and coordination. As the very concept of the EIT/KICs rests on adding value to existing European excellence, the KICs – present and future – will by definition seek to explore these synergies to a maximum. KICs will add value to initiatives that may exist in the relevant areas, including Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs), European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Furthermore, also linkages to innovation activities within the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) can be made.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 1 – point 1.3 – paragraph 6
Annex – part 1 – point 1.3 – paragraph 6
The upcoming European Innovation Partnerships will provide overarching frameworks to facilitate alignment and synergies among supply and demand- driven research and innovation instruments and policies. The EIP can be the link between the societal challenges and the EIT, playing the role of agenda setter and looking into the need of establishing a KIC regarding certain themes. The KICs can contribute to the EIPs through their distributed nature and on the ground experience, and in particular by developing the necessary human capital, educating key actors such as entrepreneurs and researchers, and identifying framework conditions and best practise on policy, regulatory or standardisation issues in their relevant sector.
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 1
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 1
The process of setting up the initial KICs has involved a substantial ‘learning by doing’. It has shown that KICs are novel concepts and the challenge of getting legally organised as a KIC and forming contractual relationships with KICs and their partners was underestimated by all parties involved in the process. A lack of awareness of the suitability of different forms of legal entity did not help smoothing the set-up process. While the bottom-up approach, which gives substantial leeway to each KIC to organise their partnerships is to be maintained, further guidance should be given to identify suitable legal set-ups. Moreover, the challenge of bringing different academic and business cultures together into one legal entity should not be underestimated; hence the importance of sharing common values at both KIC and EIT level. Furthermore, KICs are large scale institutional innovations, and no two KICs are the same. This offers a rich array of innovation models, but also renders the overall coordination and monitoring of KICs more challenging. Therefore a tailor-made approach towards the different KICs is necessary.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 2
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 2
In the future, clearer guidance should be given upstream since the selection process to ensure that essential strategic features are shared by all KICs, while allowing for differentiated approaches in KICs organisation, delivery and funding approaches. The EIT has to play a more active role in advising and supporting the KICs in administrative matters. For that purpose, the EIT has to develop a strategy to reduce administrative burden and create a best-practices guide that disseminates good practices and experiences of existing KICs to new KICs. Finally, the current total number of three KICs does not yet provide the critical mass for the EIT to develop its full potential as a leading innovation Institute. With only three KICs there are limited opportunities to achieve cross-KIC benefits of adjacent innovation opportunities as well as to reap economies of scale in administration and dissemination. It also means that the EIT is not of a sufficient scale to truly act as a European institution in its own right. In this respect additional KICs are required in order for the EIT to gain the critical mass for being more than simply the ‘sum of its parts’. If the EIT is to explore new innovation governance and management models through the KICs, a limited number of additional partnerships need to be set up in order to enlarge the sample on which the EIT experience is based upon.
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 4
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 4
The ‘EIT investor’ approach stands for a focus on identifying best strategic opportunities and selecting a portfolio of world-class partnerships – the KICs – to deliver on these. As part of this approach, the EIT awards the annual grants to the KICs based on their past performance and proposed activities in their business plan. The assessment of the business plans will be supported by external, independent experts. In this perspective, the EIT should not only set out broad directions and visions, but needs to provide KICs with an appropriate level of support and monitor their performance. At the same time, KICs are given a substantial degree of leeway to define their agenda, internal strategies and organisation as well as to deliver their activities and mobilise the talent and resources needed.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 5
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – paragraph 5
Returns on EIT investment in KICs will be measured in terms of tangible benefits for the European economy and society at large, such as creation of new business, products and services in existing and future markets, better skilled entrepreneurial people, new and more attractive job opportunities and the attraction and retention of talent from across the EU and abroad. However, also qualitative performance indicators will be set out to assess the KICs.
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.1 – paragraph 3
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.1 – paragraph 3
A good balance between co-operation and competition is equally important for bringing KICs to maximum performance. The EIT will incentivize KICs to engage in cross-KIC work in areas which offer a strong potential for synergies, e.g. via joint professional development courses, joint research activities, masters or PhDs degrees or cross-KIC mobility between academia and business. At the same time, the EIT will provide incentives for a certain degree of competition to encourage KICs to stay focused on results and impact and reward the successful KICs. Moreover, the EIT will take appropriate measures in case of underperformance.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.1 – paragraph 5 – point 2
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.1 – paragraph 5 – point 2
· Incentivise cross-co-location work within each KIC and stimulate KICs to develop joint activities on cross-cutting issues.
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 1
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 1
In order to further enhance impact and to incentivise innovation in new areas of societal challenges, the EIT will gradually expand its portfolio of KICs. By following an incremental development path in establishing new KICs, the EIT will ensure that lessons learned from previous rounds are duly taken into consideration, and that KICs are set up only in areas where there is a clear innovation potential and top-class excellence to build on. In the period 2014- 2020, new KICs will therefore be set up in two waves, i.e. three new KICs each in 2014 and 2018, leading up to a portfolio of nine KICs in the period 2014-2020 (equalling the set-up of 40-50 co-location centres across the EU). A potential new selection process for KICs in 2018 shall strongly build on the results of a thorough external evaluation of the EIT and existing KICs, including an assessment of KICs' economic and societal impact and the contribution of the EIT to strengthening the innovation capacity of the EU and Member States, as well as on the results from the evaluations of Horizon 2020the EIT will gradually launch new KICs.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 6
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 6
More details on the individual themes are provided in the factsheets at the end of the document. The EIT will spend 60% of the budget allocated for new KICs on establishing at least three KICs on the 6 themes identified by the European Commission. The EIT can choose the appropriate size and time framework for these KICs.
Amendment 117 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 7 – introductory part
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 7 – introductory part
Based on these themes, the EIT will have the autonomy to organise the future KICs selection process. The success of future calls for KICs will depend largely on clear guidance as regards the expectations and requirements, as well as a timeframe allowing KIC applicants to get solidly organised both legally and financially before submitting a proposal. KICs will be selected against detailed criteria defined in the EIT Regulation, based on the overarching principles of excellence and innovation relevance. Any KIC selected will need to demonstrate how it will create maximum impact in the given area and prove the viability of its strategy.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 7 a (new)
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 7 a (new)
The other 40% of the budget allocated for new KICs will be spend by the EIT on: - enforcing the new KICs launched on the European Commission themes - launching additional new KICs from which the EIT is free to choose the topic, provided that their scope falls within the societal challenges and they meet the minimum conditions of establishment as laid down in the regulation regarding the establishment of the EIT.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8
Amendment 126 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8 – point 1
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8 – point 1
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8 – point 2
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8 – point 2
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8 – point 3
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 8 – point 3
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 9
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 9
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 10 – point 1
Annex – part 2 – point 2.1 – point 2.1.2 – paragraph 10 – point 1
· Timely prepare a selection procedure for a second wave ofLaunch new KICs ion 2014 and – afthe appropriater the evaluation of Horizon 2020, including its specific programme and the EIT – for a third wave in 2018mes and within the appropriate framework.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 2 – point 2.3 – paragraph 3
Annex – part 2 – point 2.3 – paragraph 3
The KICs will provide an ideal testing ground for new approaches to funding and management of innovation. Through KICs' experimentation and experience, the EIT will deliver a simplification agenda in key areas such as contractual agreements, simplified reporting, lumps sums and flat rates in order to reduce the administrative burden for the KICs.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 3 – point 3.1 – paragraph 2
Annex – part 3 – point 3.1 – paragraph 2
Determining factors in this regard are size, composition and procedures of the Governing Board. The principle of independent members, combined with a limited number of elected members representing the KIC community, has proven its value and allows gathering of expertise from across the knowledge triangle. Within the Board there should be a good balance between members of the stakeholders in the innovation process, business, government and science. The initial model with 18 elected members plus, more recently, four additional KIC representatives has, however, shown its limitations. A Board scaled down in size will lead to more efficient decision-making and reduce administrative overheads. Finally, further efficiency can be gained by re-focusing the EIT Governing Board towards its core role of providing strategic guidance. Moreover, coherence with other EU initiatives will be further strengthened via reinforced consultation with the European Commission on the EIT Triennial Work Programme. The information on EIT and KICs from the EIT Triennial Work Programme will enable to assess and ensure complementarity with the other parts of Horizon 2020 and other Union Policies and instruments. All these changes have been incorporated in the modified EIT regulation accompanying the SIA.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 3 – point 3.2 – paragraph 2
Annex – part 3 – point 3.2 – paragraph 2
Moving away from a merely administrator role, the EIT headquarters will optimise their operational functions to steer the KICs to maximum performance and make good results widely available. There are efficiency gains to be achieved from providing a number of centralised services and functions, rather than at individual KIC level. While all KICs work on specific themes, a number of elements and challenges are of a cross-cutting nature and it is precisely there where the EIT can provide tangible added value. Such knowledge provider functions can relate notably to the EIT headquarters becoming an information broker and resourceful interlocutor, e.g. in fostering cross colocation and cross-KIC exchange and mutual learning, facilitating relations with the EU institutions and other key organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD), or on specific cross-cutting issues, such as counselling on IP, technology and knowledge transfer, benchmarking against international best practices, or undertaking anticipation and foresight studies to identify future directions for the EIT and the KICs. The EIT and KICs should decide together where these tasks can be most effectively dealt with. In this regard, it will be of crucial importance for the EIT and the KICs to establish viable mechanisms for systematic collaboration around cross- cutting issues.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 4 – point 4.1 – paragraph 3
Annex – part 4 – point 4.1 – paragraph 3
KICs go through various development phases with different characteristics of their total budgets before reaching cruising speed. The absorption capacity of a KIC is relatively limited at the very beginning, but develops substantially over the following years. However, business sectors can be very different from one another and ask for a different approach. Some KICs become very big and have large financial needs, whereas other ones stay small and need less financing. The EIT should therefore apply a tailor-made approach towards the KICs and their specific funding needs.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 4 – point 4.1 – paragraph 4
Annex – part 4 – point 4.1 – paragraph 4
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 4 – point 4.1 – paragraph 5
Annex – part 4 – point 4.1 – paragraph 5
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 4 – point 4.2 – paragraph 1
Annex – part 4 – point 4.2 – paragraph 1
The EIT's budget needs in the period 2014- 2020 are 3,1 billion euro and are based on three main components: the necessary expenditure for consolidation of the existing three KICs, gradual development towards new KICs in 2014 and 2018 respectively, and dissemination and outreach activities and administrative expenditure.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex – part 4 – point 4.2 – paragraph 2
Annex – part 4 – point 4.2 – paragraph 2
Around 1,69 billion euro (53,15% of the total EIT budget) is envisaged to fund the KICs designated in 2009 and already operating at the cruising speed; 1,01 billion euro (31,81%) is envisaged for the second wave of KICs (at that time during the start up and development phases) and 259,75 million euro (8,16%) for KICs established as a result of the third wave39,97% is envisaged for the establishment of new KICs.